On the eve of 5G, how to solve the public WiFi security risk

Last updated Jan, 18th 2019

Guide: As people's demand for communication networks increases, public wireless WiFi with a simple connection method is required. Public WiFi seems to be harmless, but it is easy to become a trap under hacker design.

Entering the digital age, the technology update and application of mobile devices has rapidly expanded from the field of science and technology to the fields of economy, people's livelihood, government, etc., covering all aspects of social life. According to data released by Cisco in August 2017, there are about 7 billion users in the 30 years of mobile communication network development. With the increasing demand for communication networks, public wireless WiFi with a simple connection method is required. Public WiFi seems to be harmless, but it is easy to become a trap under hacker design.

On January 5th, the Haidilao hot pot in the Dayang Department Store of Jianghan Road in Hankou, the TV that was usually used to play the propaganda film suddenly appeared indecent video, and the incident caused widespread concern in the society. Over ten million. Recently, the incident was announced, because the suspect Liang used a mobile phone to crack the WiFi password, and then cast a screen to the TV to play the indecent video, the man has been criminally detained by Hubei Wuhan police.

In the follow-up adjustment, the police found that the same situation occurred in a KTV located in Xinjiali Plaza on Jianghan Road. Both cases were investigated by Liang. These two "spicy eyes" incidents have had a major impact on consumers and businesses. As for the specific crime details of cracking the WiFi password, the police have not yet announced it, but the security issue of public WiFi is indeed worthy of attention.

Generally speaking, public WiFi providers will actively inform users of the way they access the Internet, such as telling passwords, requiring authentication or direct connection, but perhaps hackers have become users without knowing it. In terms of this incident, the hacker cracked the public WiFi, but changed the screen display by using the mobile phone and the TV in the same WIFI environment.

Imagine that at the same time, more than one hundred mobile phones are linked to this public WiFi. In this case, the user's personal information is simply a "back door", and the hacker can do whatever he wants. Public WiFi is free and fast, but the risk factor is also high, reminding everyone to avoid using public networks without security. If everyone is on public WiFiInsufficient awareness of security, this may be a prank, the next time it is a tragedy.

also mentioned at the beginning that the demand for bandwidth and speed will be more urgent in the future, and the arrival of 5G is expected to lead a new revolution in mobile networks. And will the public WiFi security issue of 5G be weakened? The answer is yes. As 5G has the advantages of low latency, unlimited traffic, and Internet of Everything, public WiFi is bound to be replaced by 5G, further reducing the security risks of public WiFi, and a new situation in which WiFi wireless LAN technology and 5G mobile communication technology complement each other.

But the 5G network is not perfect. In April 2018, the EU IT security agency ENISA said that 2G, 3G and 4G network vulnerabilities may be repeated in 5G. This means that 5G may also be threatened by attacks. Although 5G network technology supports authenticated encryption protocols, this security function is not mandatory and depends on the operator's final settings. So in addition to relying on technical support, we also need to rely on ourselves for security issues.